Santa Fe – detour

New Mexico of course brought to my mind Roosevelt and UFOs… Checked the map, but came to a conclusion that detour to Roosevelt would take too long. However, the state’s cultural and political capital, Santa Fe seemed not to be too far for a day trip. – And so we decided to take a leap from the old road.

When arriving to Santa Fe, I could not quite believe that this was one of the most popular vacation destinations in the country. However, after spending a day in this colorful town and admiring its central plaza, I could understand pretty well, why people wanted to come here and enjoy themselves. Relaxed atmosphere together with fresh air and cultural mix… perfect.

Santa Fe is also a great place for anyone who likes shopping – and shares a same taste as I do. (OR… rather does not like shopping, but needs to find beautiful things fast and easy.) I saw the most beautiful ring and shoes e-v-e-r in this town; but only took one of them with me… Still hoping for another one ;-).

New Mexico – set your clocks – and mind, yet to another new state!

After crossing the border between Texas and New Mexico it was time to set our clocks and get something to eat. (Border marks the boundary between central and mountain time zones.) Just by a chance we pulled our car to Russell’s Truck and Travel Center, and it turned out to be a great choice. Not only did we get to see some awesome glittering trucks, but we also got to visit a car and memorabilia museum, and eat in lovely Route 66 diner together with real American truck drivers. Portion size was just about right…

Good break, and we even took advance of the free wifi, and made a Skype-call back home. (For once, it was right time – here and there.) From the gift shop I bought an extremely beautiful black leather wristband (with cross and horse on it), only to lose it before flying home. 😦 – Still crying over it!

Halfway?

We had been told that the Midpoint Cafe at Adrian was of the nicest places to eat along Route 66; and when taking a bite of their pie, one could actually taste the happiness. I am sure this would have been the case, but cannot really verify it, as the place was closed for January. So, the only memory I got from the Midpoint, was this photograph.

– Some places being closed, is the down side of taking the Route 66 during the wintertime. However, I would still recommend a “winter ride”.

We had reached the halfway:

We had left 1139 miles behind us, yet another 1139 was ahead of us before reaching the L.A.

Caddies in the ground

In the following morning it was all ok again. After long bath and breakfast we were ready to hit the road. Our first task was to buy spray paint in dazzling colors, and then continue towards the Cadillac Ranch.

Already the previous day we had passed Conway, one of Texas’ ghost towns, where we had met a delightful sight… By the road side we saw five VW Beetles buried topsy-turvy in the ground. Obviously, this was meant to be an acknowledgement for the real deal: Cadillac Ranch. And that was our destination today.

We could not find spray paint bottles from the gas station, but we still hoped that someone would have left their used sprays on the spot… – Would be awful to come thus far and not be able to leave one’s marks on the sheet metal. For our luck, there was abandoned spray paint bottles on the ground.

Strong wind was blowing through my hair as we crossed the dusty farm field to the old and trashed Caddies. There was no rush at the sight, and so we could shoot pictures and get paint to our faces in the wind – all in peace. 😉

Is this the way to Amarillo?

“Just beyong the highway, there’s an open plain And it keeps me going through the wind and rain…”

I was so excited! We were finally on our way to Amarillo. For some reason I had high expectations for night life in this town, and I couldn’t wait to put my high heels on, and have a good time!

It all started fine. We found a cool place where to eat; the Big Texan Stake Ranch is A MUST for all 66’rs! However, we did not try restaurant’s famous 72-oz. stake challenge (get a free 72-oz stake, if eaten in 1 hour), as our aim really was to hit the dance floor later…

Restaurant was nice, stayed a bit longer for shooting games and to enjoy the performing trubadur. Still on our way out, we visited a nice souvenir shop, and chatted with some friendly Texans – who convinced us that it simply just coudn’t get any more Texan than this! 😄

Evening probably should have ended at the Stake Ranch, as after that it all went bad: Couldn’t find any nice bars (even had tried to google before…), got pissed off for my travel buddy getting grumpy for us not finding party places… and finally navigator (or better: us, users ;-)) had lost the address of our hotel, and as we could not remember what it was called… Well, let me just say that this was one of those nights that did not really turn out as planned.

My high heels did not get all worn out that night… But I felt my relationship did.

Groom

The Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ in Groom, which is 190 feet tall and has 110 foot arms, can be seen for about 20 miles along old Route 66. Now we must be close to God! – At least, if we can draw any conclusions about the size of the cross. 🙂

Gods’s cattle…

Texas is a state of mind!

Even the sky is closer in Texas…. There is just something about this state that makes you love it! They say that Texas is actually not a state, but a state of mind; and I am starting to think this is true. People are warm, talkative, nice and welcoming – and everything is BIG. You can still feel impacts of history: this state was once independent, and they selfawarness is still a bit higher than others, I think.

You just gotta love, how even grills at the pitstops are made in the shape of the state Texas. Man, this is just something else!

This is a state that I would definitely love to visit later, and explore more of it.

Elk City, National Route 66 museum

There were many interesting places to visit in Oklahoma. One on the way that we could have stayed a bit longer was National Route 66 Museum in Elk City. Here visitors get to make a personal journey through the historical Mother Road.

Like a candyland.

El Reno – Crossroads of America

… and dozens of other towns, even smaller than this, did not get that attention from us that they probably would have deserved. When on the road only about three weeks, one needs to prioritize, and push the pedal down when reaching certain towns, even temptation would be to pull over, and take a deeper look into local lifestyle.

– Maybe someone else can share stories about all those lovely places that are not being highlighted in this blog?

Please, feel free to share!

Garth Brooks playing in my mind…

First town after OKC brought to my mind some bittersweet memories…

We were passing by and filling our tank at Yukon, when I realized I was staring a destination sign that had name “Garth Brooks” on it. I needed to open my guide book to confirm it: Yeap, we had arrived to this iconic country singer’s hometown.

When spelling his name once more in my mind, it suddenly came back to me, how The First Love of My Life had shot an TV add with him some years ago. (Don’t ask which year, and what was the product… that I simply can’t remember…) – But Garth I remembered… and “She’s every woman” started playing in my mind…

For a little while, I was a quiet co-driver.

Life is sweet.